Pajaro Valley school official says 2 percent pay increase possible

WATSONVILLE -- Pajaro Valley could increase pay 2 percent for all school employees, an official said Wednesday.

Salary increases are one way the district could begin to address "tremendous pent-up demand" after five years of belt tightening, Chief Business Officer Brett McFadden told the school board Wednesday.

But amid continuing uncertainty about the governor's proposed changes to state education funding and ongoing deficit spending in the district, McFadden called conditions "dangerous" and urged the board to act carefully. No action was taken at the study session, a prelude to developing next year's budget.

"If you make a wrong decision, the ramifications could be horrendous," McFadden said. District finances "could spiral out of control."

Raising salaries across the board next year would cost $2.7 million, McFadden said.

"We think it's possible," he said, adding contingencies would have to be in place to protect the district in case anticipated revenues don't materialize.

"We think they can do better," said Francisco Rodriguez, president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers. "It's not just improving salaries. It's improving working conditions."

Conditions in classrooms have deteriorated due to budget cuts, Rodriguez said. Class sizes have been increased, for example.

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Teachers and parents have urged the district to loosen the purse strings now that the state budget appears to be in better shape, and funding is slated to increase. People are looking in particular at $8 million the district set aside in case Proposition 30, the tax measure that stabilized the state budget, failed. Its passage should free up that money, they've argued. McFadden said he's received 25 proposals for new programs or restorations and more come in daily.

But McFadden said even with no increases in funding for five years and costs continuing to rise, the district has been spending down reserves. Proposition 30 bought some time, but deficit spending continues and will catch up with the district.

In addition, it's unclear how much the district will have to spend going forward. That's because the governor has proposed changing how schools are funded, and, though the state Department of Finances was expected to provide districts with estimated funding levels by the end of January, the projections have yet to be released. Even then, the state Legislature must approve the governor's plan.

"The bottom line is our situation remains that there are a lot of unknowns," McFadden said. "We don't want to gamble on anything we don't know, anything we think may happen."

Still, the expectation is that funding will be increased, and McFadden said the district may be able to spend a portion of the $8 million.

Though he advised against tapping the entire $8 million the district set aside in case Proposition 30 failed, he said some spending could be accommodated.